Japanese juggernaut Namco Bandai announced today that Eternal Sonata (known as Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream in Japan) is headed to the United States on the Xbox 360. Enmeshing you in a rich RPG plot, Eternal Sonata tells the tale of an old composer who dreams of a damsel in distress and the hero that must save her. Expect many uses of the word "destiny" and lots of sappy dialogue in the hopelessly convoluted tradition of the Japanese RPGs we love.

A few of the new features touted by Namco Bandai's press release caught our eye, but the most exciting one is the new monster morphing system (even though nobody knows much about it, it sounds cool). Other next-gen retools include a hybrid battle system that purports to offer both a turn-based structure and action elements. We've also heard that music will be incorporated into the battles, so at the very least we're in for something a little different than the classic menu-driven combat of older RPGs. Namco Bandai has also hinted that light and dark will somehow play into your attacks, adding a layer of strategy that we hope doesn't end up amounting to a cheap gimmick.

Hopefully, we'll get to see more of this melodic RPG as we continue to cover the Tokyo Game Show in Japan

September 20, 2006